


He Can't Have It

by The_Stars_Above28



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Possessive Jughead Jones, Protective Jughead Jones, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:08:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24412555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Stars_Above28/pseuds/The_Stars_Above28
Summary: Jughead gets pulled into the locker room by Cheryl, only to find Betty in desperate need of some help. Bughead [angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort]  TW: pig’s blood.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, bughead
Comments: 2
Kudos: 94





	He Can't Have It

**Author's Note:**

> Set in season two, around episode 11, when Betty & Jughead are broken up. [angst, hurt/comfort] TW: pig’s blood. 
> 
> Prompt: "Can't have that"

“JUGHEAD JONES!” Cheryl Blossom is a cheerleader and she knows how to project, damn it.  


Looking back, Jughead eyes her with distrust as his ears ring from her scream.  


“C’mon,” Cheryl says, grabbing his hand and digging in her red nails when he tries to pull away.  


“What is it, Cheryl?” Jughead asks as the Serpents he was standing with snicker.  


“You need to see this.” She insists, taking him to the girl’s locker room. The gym is quiet and there’s no one in the hallway. Jughead tugs on his beanie uncomfortably.  


“Um, Cheryl, what’re you...?”  


“Get. Inside.” Cheryl snarls, holding the door open, clacking her nails on the door impatiently.  


Eyeing her warily, Jughead glances down and sees the droplets of dark red on the ground. Blood? He charges in, his feet slipping on a sticky red substance on the floor. There’s a bang as the door slams behind him. Jughead follows the trail of red to the third aisle and has to stifle a scream as his heart attempts to beat out of his chest.  


Eyes and lips shut tight, Betty Cooper stands frozen in a once white towel. Shaking, she is absolutely drenched in bright red blood that pools away from her in slow rivulets.  


“Betty!” Jughead rushes toward her, startling her. She flinches away. “Betts, it’s me.”  


Still keeping her eyes and lips shut, Betty whimpers deep in her throat.  


“Are you hurt?? Betty, where are you hurt?” Jughead’s mind is kicking into overdrive, sheer panic causing him to overlook that there’s no way all the blood could be hers. Running his hands over her arms, he realizes this. The skin beneath his rough palms is smooth and unhurt.  


Grabbing a clean towel from the bench, he says: “Betty, I’m going to touch your face now, okay?”  


Betty nods ever so slightly, her body as tense as a statue. Carefully placing his hand on the back of her neck, uncaring that his hands are now stained red as well, Jughead manages to clean the sticky dark substance off her face.  


“It’s just pig’s blood, baby.” Jughead continues in a low, soft voice, hoping to calm her down. Betty whimpers again, with the beginning of a sob in her throat, causing Jughead to tense.  


“Betts, it’s gonna be okay. Let me help you get this off.”  


Betty nods again, her eyes and lips still shut as a towel can only do so much and she still feels the remnants of the blood coating her face. Bottom lip slightly quivering, she hears Jughead cursing under his breath. One arm comes around her waist, the other grabbing the hand not holding her towel. 

Jughead leads her toward the showers. The floor changes to cool, slippery tiles beneath her feet. Jughead turns on the water, waiting until it’s not too cold and not too hot.  


“C'mon, take a step in, Betts.” Jughead coaxes. Betty steps forward blindly, keeping a tight hold on Jughead’s hand. He lets her, guiding her until she feels the water. They stand there, Betty’s face upturned toward the shower as red water runs off her. Jughead is silent, watching with an inscrutable expression. Rage is slowly starting to fill his veins with ice, now that the sheer panic is beginning to dissipate.  


“Betty, should I give you some privacy?” Jughead asks after a few moments of Betty still tightly clenching his hand.  


Opening her eyes for the first time, Betty shakes her head.  


“No, Jug. Will you stay with me?” She asks, her soft voice rasping in her throat, dropping the useless blood-soaked towel to the floor. “Please?” She doesn’t want to beg but there’s a quiver in her voice.  


Throat bobbing, Jug fights to keep his eyes locked on her face and not on the sight of her pale, naked skin with red rivers cascading down it.  


“I’m sorry, Jug.” Betty is staring at his white shirt in dismay as she takes in the red blood stains. “I ruined your shirt-”  


“Betty, who did this to you?” Jughead asks, leaning in, eyes hard. “Did you see them?”  


“I’m not sure.” Betty’s foot catches on the edge of the discarded towel and she slips forward a little. Jughead’s hands automatically shoot out to steady her, hands on her waist, skin to skin.  


He’s practically vibrating with tension, his head hanging slightly. Betty grasps his wrists, holding him in place. The water is still beating down on her, the spray starting to hit Jughead. Betty reaches out and tugs slightly on Jughead’s formerly white t-shirt. Inviting her in with him.  


Fuck it, Jughead thinks. He’s already wet. He kicks off his shoes, throws his jacket onto a bench behind him and steps fully into the shower.  


“What do you need, Betts?” Jughead asks, one hand reaching up to run his hands through her hair. His fingers meet her tight ponytail holder and he removes it. Slipping it onto his wrist, he pulls her closer and under the steady stream of water. He starts to massage his fingers into her hair, until the water dripping from her blond hair starts to run clear. Betty’s eyes flicker, her fingers clinging to Jughead’s soaked t-shirt as she stares at him.  


“Tell me.” Jughead commands, unwilling to compromise. This is exactly what wasn’t supposed to happen. She was supposed to be safe, away from him. And now...whoever did this would pay. Betty stares up at him, eyes slightly glassy, and Jughead would bet all the money to his name that she’s in shock. He’s still hell-bent on finding out who did this, but it can wait a few more minutes. He takes a step toward her, bracing one of his hands on the wall behind her head.  


“Baby. You’re safe now. Alright?” Betty eyes him for a moment before lunging for him, throwing her arms around him in a wet hug. Unhesitatingly, Jughead returns the hug, his strong arms wrapping tightly around her.  


Tucking her head against his chest, lightly stroking her hair, Jughead murmurs things meant only for her ears. Betty shifts against him, wet hair streaming down her bare back.  


“I need you, Jughead.” she whispers, nuzzling deeper into his chest. “That’s what I need.”  


“I’m going to protect you, Betty. I know this happened because of me and I won’t let it happen again.” Jughead says, cradling her as he leans back slightly against the wall.  


“Juggy, I don’t need you to protect me. I just want to be with you. Stay with you, be part of your world.” Betty says, her voice trembling.  


“Betty…”  


Her fingers trace his black snake tattoo through the wet shirt. “I don’t care anymore. I’ll join the Serpents, do whatever you want me to do to prove myself to you.” 

The shock starts to wear off, her head tilts back and tears glisten in her eyes. She glances down at the red water, swallowing hard.  


Jughead carefully places a finger under her chin, tilting her gaze back up.  


“Betty, I don’t want you to have to do any of that for me.”  


Betty’s hands fist in his t-shirt. “But I want to be with you, Juggy.”  


His hand finds hers, gently opening her fingers like a flower, to reveal crescent moons mar her skin. The locker room is completely silent, aside from the sound of the shower.  


“I thought we talked about this, babe.”  


Betty looks away, but when her hands start to curl, Jughead grabs her hand in his own.  


“I don’t know how this is going to work, Betts.” As the water starts to run cold, Betty can't suppress a sudden shiver. Noticing, Jughead loosens his grip, despite Betty’s frown.  


“C’mon, you’re going to freeze.” Stepping out of the shower, he unrepentantly drips water everywhere. Reaching a hand back to help her step down, Betty lands a quick kiss on his cheek.  


“Thank you, Juggy. I...don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come.”  


Jughead smiles, but it looks pained. The locker room still looks like a fresh murder scene and Betty’s eyes widen as she looks at the spot where she was standing. She gags slightly at the smell. Jughead hastily grabs a fresh towel, wrapping it around her and moving to block the mess from her view.  


“Wait right here, Betty.” Jughead leads her two aisles over, picking up his discarded jacket. It’s not his Serpents jacket, banned on school property, but a soft and flannel-lined one. He tucks it around Betty’s shoulders, noting her slightly blue lips. Betty’s always been the one to get cold incredibly easily, she was always “borrowing” shirts or jackets and he would let her. Jughead? Along with his raging appetite, he was always warm.  


Grabbing Betty’s backpack and her mercifully clean clothes, Jughead brings them over, setting them down beside her.  
Jughead tried his best to wring out his soaked t-shirt, then sat down and put an arm around her. Betty sighs in relief as he does so, cuddling as close to him as she can. His hand takes hers, holding tight.  


“Betts-” Jughead’s voice cracks, as he eyes an escaped strand of hair over her shoulder.  


“Doesn’t this belong to me?” She points to the hairband on his wrist.  


Jughead stares. “I love seeing you with your hair down, Betts. You always look so beautiful.”  


She blushes, and Jughead is relieved to see the color warm her cheeks.  


“So now what, Jug? You love me and you care, but you still can't be with me?” Betty tries to smile, a tear escaping down her cheek. “Do you know how lonely it’s been without you? So much stuff is going on, from my brother-”  


“You have a brother?” Jughead’s eyebrows shoot up.  


“-to my mom treating him like a ten-year-old, to the babies-”  


“Babies?!” His jaw drops.  


“Polly’s babies, she had the twins.”  


Jughead strokes a hand slowly down her back, slightly dumbfounded by everything.  


“I’m sorry, love. It sounds like you’ve been dealing with a lot.”  


“I mean, I know you’ve been busy dealing with Serpent stuff and your dad being out of jail.”  


Jughead’s mind shoots to Penny, FP, and the upcoming vote. It had all flown from his mind as soon as he saw Betty covered in blood.  


“You could say that. But I only did some of that stuff because...your safety was threatened, Betts. And I can’t have that. Actually, we should probably get out of here.” Jughead stands. Frowning, Betty shrugs off Jughead’s jacket to get dressed. Once dressed, she puts on the jacket again. Betty gestures to her hair.  


“Will you?” she asked, facing away from Jughead. Jughead smiled as he moved his hands to gather her hair back in a ponytail. He had endless practice from his sister Jellybean and it was a ritual that he and Betty had shared in the past. He loved playing with Betty’s incredibly soft hair. Snapping the elastic into place, Jughead couldn’t resist and ran one hand through her ponytail.  


“Let’s go, Betts.” He turned to go, not commenting on the fact that Betty had put his jacket back on.  


“Jughead. Wait.”  


Stepping closer, Betty gently pulled his head down to hers and finally kissed him properly. Moving back against the lockers, Betty moaned as Jughead returned the kiss with the passion and love that he always had for her. She gasped as he pulled away, Jughead stopped and stared at her. His expression was somewhat sad.  


“I don’t want to see you hurt. I don’t want anything bad to touch you, Betts. You’re mine.” he said, as he gently put a hand to her neck.  


“I’m going to keep you safe, Betty. I promise.”  


Betty looked cautiously optimistic: “Juggy...what are you trying to say?”  


“I never stopped loving you, Betty. And if my staying away is just going to get you hurt and harassed in locker rooms…” Jughead pulled her closer, placing his slightly damp beanie gently on her head, tugging it down over her wet hair.  


“I can’t have that. You’re mine, Betty. Always. And I’m yours.”  


In return, her eyes sparkling with happy tears, she dragged his head down for another kiss which he eagerly reciprocated, finally holding his girl in his arms again. Her hands in his hair, he grabbed her ass to pull her even closer. Betty’s slightly blue lips were kissed and coaxed into a brilliant ruby warmth.  


There was a scuffing sound as the door to the locker room opened. Then there was the click of long nails, as a hand braced the door open.  


“Well?” Cheryl asked imperiously. “Did he stop being an idiot?”  


“Thanks, Cheryl,” Betty said, smiling at Cheryl’s tough facade. Betty hadn’t seen who did it, but she had heard Cheryl’s scream and suspected that she had been the one to get Jughead. Jughead, who currently had a possessive arm around her waist and whose dark curls were in serious disarray from her hands.  


“Did you see who did it, Cheryl?” he asked ominously.  


“I’m not sure but...it looked a lot like Chuck Clayton. But I didn’t get a good look.”  


Jughead seethed and Betty’s gaze went blank.  


“Thank you, Cheryl.” Jughead said, eyes stone cold. He led Betty out of the locker room, while Cheryl silently assessed the changes in Betty’s wardrobe and Jughead’s wet shirt.  


Hand in hand, the King and soon-to-be Queen of the Serpents walked down the hall, dripping water, but very much back together. Cheryl stared after them with a satisfied smile. One day soon, she would ask a favor of Jughead Jones and she thought he would be particularly inclined to grant it. Chuck Clayton, if he was the perpetrator, would find karma to be a bitch. But at this moment, the only thing that Jughead Jones could think about was the way Betty Cooper’s hand felt in his and how finally, maybe, things were back to the way they were supposed to be. In the meantime, no one was going to lay a finger on his girl again, not if he could help it. He just couldn’t have it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! :)


End file.
